Wise men in Africa
Published in The Independent (January 1st, 2010) The Dragon’s Gift by Deborah Brautigam (OUP) The Chinese invasion of Africa is,... Read Full Article
Feet of the Chameleon: The Story of African Football
Published in The Independent (November 6th, 2009) Feet of the Chameleon by Ian Hawkey (Portico) In 1938, a young man... Read Full Article
A wild shrine to music, history and the struggle for human rights
Published in The Independent (June 5th, 2009) We bumped our way down the ramshackle streets of Ikeja in the traffic-choked... Read Full Article
This outburst will strike a chord around the world
Published in The Independent (May 7th, 2009) Abbas Kiarostami’s outburst against British officialdom will strike a chord with artists all... Read Full Article
A brave new world of music
Published in The Independent (May 1st, 2009) As she waited to go on, Souad Massi looked nervous for the first... Read Full Article
Music from the heart of the Congo
Published in The Independent (February 29th, 2008) The tiny stage was packed as a heavy, dancehall rhythm rumbled out into... Read Full Article
Journey into the beating heart of Africa
Published in The Independent (October 13th, 2006) We ducked into a covered alleyway, where two elderly men with grizzled beards,... Read Full Article
Songs of freedom
Published in The Independent (January 18th, 2004) The full moon was bathing the Saharan dunes in light as a middle... Read Full Article